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Speech-Language Pathologists and RTIMay 12, 2011 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

About this TalkJoin Drs. Barbara Ehren and Maureen Staskowski during our next RTI Talk as they answer yourquestions about the role of SLPs in RTI. They will also offer tips and examples of effective ways to engagein assessment and intervention activities based on lessons learned working with SLPs in local schools.

Transcript

Beth BarnesIs RTI meant for speech and language also in the preschool setting?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.A great resource for direction and examples of RTI in preschool with a collaborative teacher-SLPteam is in the Pre-K section of he RTI Action Network. There is a link to a document and webinarentitled, "Read the Roadmap to Pre-K RTI: Applying Response to Intervention in Preschool Settings"

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Yes. See Froma Roth's work, among others.

EdnaWhat role does an SLP play on an RTI team?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.There have been 2 journals in speech and language with an issue devoted to the roles of SLPs inRTI:Topics in Language Disorders edited by Barb Ehren (Volume 25 #2, 2005 ) and Seminars in SpeechPathology edited by Froma Roth (Volume 20 #2, 2009 ). Combined these issues include 10 greatarticles about SLPs in various roles related to RTI.

RTI is a framework where key elements occur, yet it looks differently in each school or districtdepending on the culture, combination of staff, expertise of staff, and preference of the staff.Professionals from different disciplines may serve in the various roles. I have seen SLPs serve indifferent roles depending on their expertise, comfort level, preferences and directives.

SLPs as organizers/designers/leadersSome SLPs have played a leading role in helping their district get started in developing aMulti-tiered System of Supports (MTSS). They may have helped their building and/or district select

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universal screening measures, build infrastructure (who will do what and when) school-wide, ordesignate and structure team time or grade level meeting time. These SLPs often work closely witha leadership team to help develop these key elements.

SLPs as data interpretersSLPs have incredible training in assessment, data analysis, designing instructional changes inresponse to discrete changes in data. Any team is fortunate when an SLP can attend data meetings.We bring a perspective and raise questions that may not be observed by other team members inthe same way.

SLPs as intervention providers or consultants to intervention providersSLPs have amazing intervention skills in language and literacy. RTI has provided a vehicle for manySLPs to shine ? to use their expertise in ways that helped the entire school or district and enabledprincipals and teachers to finally understand their expertise. It has also provided a vehicle for SLPsto move into a more inclusive and relevant service delivery model. There simply isn?t time to seestudents on caseload in isolation and consult with teachers and provide help to students at-risk fordisabilities. For some SLPs, RTI has taken the debate out of service delivery. The result is thateveryone involved sees the benefits of having the SLP and teachers collaborate closely.

Lisa DuffyHow are others identifying Language-Based Learning Disabilities within an RTI model? How haveothers utilized speech pathologists within the tiered RTI framework?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Indeed, students experiencing language difficulties who may turn out to be students with LLDwould be identified through an RTI process in the same manner as other students. More to thepoint ?how many students with LD don?t have language issues? Very few. This construct relates tomy plea for having SLPs as integral members of RTI teams to ferret out who needs what withrespect to language. For me SLP roles revolve around:

1. Triaging students

Looking at students individually●

Deciphering patterns of strengths and challenges in learning with an eye on language●

underpinningsHelping to decide who needs what service from whom●

2. Guiding language-sensitive assessment/instruction/intervention delivered by others, includingaccommodations for students with disabilities.

3. Providing intervention to students on language underpinnings in collaboration with others.

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4. Providing speech and language therapy to students eligible for Speech Language Impaired (SLI)programs. With respect to #4 we have to remember that RTI is an overarching framework thatincludes special education.

Pamela PolkWhat assessments could be used to document progress and growth during the RTI process?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.There are really two different kinds of progress monitoring that often require different tools. One isfor the purpose of benchmarking student progress against a specific standard to see if a student ismeeting growth expectations. The other is more of a formative assessment to ascertain whatdirection should be taken in intervention. The instruments/procedures used for benchmarking don'talways help with informing intervention at the level of specificity needed to determine anintervention path. For example if one uses words per minute as a measure of progress in readingfluency, you still don't know what accounts for the student's performance and therefore what to doabout it. A student could lack oral reading fluency for a number of reasons. Each reason wouldhave a different intervention direction. It is my suggestion that benchmarking assessments bedone in terms of curriculum targets. Ordinarily these have been in reading and writing (and coreacademic subjects in secondary). While listening and speaking are also key curricular areas, we arestruggling with how to benchmark them. Ron and Sandy Gillam are doing some interesting workwith narrative assessment that holds promise. Regarding formative assessment, the data an SLPwould normally provide to capture a student's progress in language underpinnings would serve thispurpose. In another question Nicole talked about use of rubrics. Check my response to thatquestion for thoughts about the use of rubrics.

Katharine V NobleHello. I'm an SLP in several public schools serving K-12. I've been asked by administration to useRtI as a way to serve kids with speech artic issues only -- that is, their speech patterns do notaffect their academics. Other administrators have told me not to serve these kids at all, since theirspeech does not directly affect their education (though I disagree with this statement, it is ourdistrict's policy). What role does RtI play in our helping kids with speech-only issues, if any?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.As I reported in another response, the litmus test of educational significance is required by federallaw. We cannot serve a student as a student with a disability unless the disorder has adverseeducational impact. So it?s not your district who invented this policy. I feel strongly that studentswith single sound articulation errors without adverse educational impact should not even betreated under the auspices of an RTI process.

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I do think these students can be helped in a kind of ?speech club? framework that might be part ofan SLP?s workload. However, to call that RTI, to me trivializes the substantive work with academicand behavior problem solving that should be the hallmark of RTI in which the SLP participates. Thelanguage underpinnings of literacy, curriculum and behavior should be what we address within RTI.But by all means find alternative ways to avoid labeling students with single sound artic studentsas students with a disability. Call your work something else, like ?speech club.? Just don?t call it RTI.If you do you may just be reinforcing our stereotype as ?speech teachers? that we have beentrying to overcome.

Ellie IngerickWhat are some of the most effective Tier 2 and 3 interventions for improving readingcomprehension of narrative text? ...for development of content vocabluary?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.Here are a number of resources that I rely on for Vocabulary and Comprehension Instruction:

1. Website Doing What Works (DWW)The Doing What Works website is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. It is an onlinelibrary of resources to help educators implement research-based instructional practices from theWhat Works Clearing House. It provides extensive information and examples with practicesummary, videos, lesson planning tools, self-assessment and more. Vocabulary instruction andComprehension strategy instruction are topics I refer to frequently on this site. Here is a link to theVocabulary section which is found in the Adolescent literacy section.

2. Book and WebsiteThe book Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching By Anita L. Archer and Charles A.Hughes is part of the What works for Special Needs Learners series of books by Guilford. It has anextensive companion website with video demonstrations. Here is a link to a demonstrationvocabulary lesson for adolescents.

3. Book and WebsiteAnother great book that has great online resources is: Word Wise and Content Rich: Five EssentialSteps to Teaching Academic Vocabulary by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, 2008. Portsmouth,Heinemann The author?s five-step model shows you how to:

Make it intentional: select words for instruction and use word lists and up-to-date website lists●

wiselyMake it transparent: model word-solving and word-learning strategies for students●

Make it useable: offer learners the collaborative work and oral practice essential to understanding●

concepts ? Make it personal: give and monitor independent practice so students take ownershipof words

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Make it a priority: create a school-wide program for word learning. Heinemann provides online●

resources including chapter-by-chapter study guides, audio podcasts, and video podcasts.

4. WebsiteMissionliteracy.com is a website put together by regional literacy coordinators in Michigan. Here isa link to the Vocabulary Resources page.

5. Intervention program examplesIn our Tier two and three Intervention programs we have worked with the schools to look beyondreading decoding.

Sequential instruction of comprehension strategies for content areas and narratives.●

West Ed Academic Literacy●

Teaching Reader?s Apprenticeship strategies in the content areas. SRA/McGraw Hill●

Read to Achieve Comprehending Content Area Text and Read to Achieve Comprehending●

Narrative TextPrograms that teach morphemes: prefixes, suffixes and word bases Spelling with Morphographs●

by SRA McGraw Hill Vocabulary with Morphemes by Sopris West

Kristine DispensaHow do we, as SLPs, truly and effectively implement RtI in a school setting? Realistically, teachersdo not appreciate or want our presence in the classrooms. They feel it is a disruption to theirinstructional time.

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.A systemic implementation of RTI will require a great deal of collaboration from teachers andsupport personnel at a school. For focus on Tier 1, or core instruction, SLPs may very well be inclassrooms assisting teachers in differentiating instruction for diverse learners, including those withlanguage issues (some of whom may have language disabilities). Interventions in other tiers maytake place in a variety of settings, including classrooms. Details regarding how this actually worksneed to be negotiated with all involved educators. Having other professionals in a classroomdoesn?t have to disrupt instructional time if logistics are discussed by all. I suspect that at the rootof this issue, however, is ?culture? (i.e. there has to be a culture of collaboration at a school for thiskind of partnership to occur). And RTI surely requires partnerships. I suggest on-going professionaldevelopment, perhaps including the creation of a PLC (Professional Learning Community) toaddress collaboration on behalf of all students at a school, especially those who struggle.

NicoleDoes qualitative data have a place in determining progress? "RTI me" understands the need formeasurable data and graphs; however "SLP me" knows that vocabulary and comprehension

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interventions are not black/white and involve several skills combined. I would much rather use arubric to express student growth of comprehension strategies over time such as visualizing, usingprior knowledge,etc. What are your thoughts on finding a happy medium?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Hooray for you for recognizing the complexity of language comprehension processes! One of thebiggest challenges we have in RTI is progress monitoring - keeping track of "real" targets thatmake a difference in a way that makes sense. For example, tracking words per minute tells younothing about comprehension. I think the idea of using rubrics is worth exploring and these toolsCAN provide quantitative data, especially if you construct analytical rubrics that define aspects tothe process. So for example, instead of a holistic rubric on vocabulary construct an analytical onethat lists several aspects of vocabulary - maybe (1) understands the meaning of x number of wordstaught this period (2) gives a synonym or defines function for x number of words (3) uses in asentence, etc. (You get the idea). A comprehension rubric could capture all the items you list andmore. The trick is to provide enough gradations on a scale to show progress; so a rubric that hasmany points and is sensitive to growth might be a way to go. I know we are used to 5 or fewerpoints on a scale, but more might give us the sensitivity we need.

Karen CopelandWhere do we draw the line re: articulation needs? We recently met as a group in our district andmost are using an RTI model instead of an IEP/504 for mild artic issues. Teachers and parents areso used to (and expect!) receiving these services in the school setting under SPED that I can'timagine some parents taking their child to receive services outside of the school setting. Anyinsights would be appreciated.

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.As I reported in another response, the litmus test of educational significance is required by federallaw. We cannot serve a student as a student with a disability unless the disorder has adverseeducational impact. So it's not your district who invented this policy. I feel strongly that studentswith single sound articulation errors without adverse educational impact should not even betreated under the auspices of an RTI process. I do think these students can be helped in a kind of"speech club" framework that might be part of an SLP's workload. However, to call that RTI, to metrivializes the substantive work with academic and behavior problem solving that should be thehallmark of RTI in which the SLP participates. The language underpinnings of literacy, curriculumand behavior should be what we address within RTI. But by all means find alternative ways to avoidlabeling students with single sound artic students as students with a disability. Call your worksomething else, like "speech club." Just don't call it RTI. If you do you may just be reinforcing ourstereotype as "speech teachers" that we have been trying to overcome.

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Dean CaouetteELL/Students and students from low SES often arrive to school with diminish vocabularies thateffects the student's academic growth. They can often decode words, remember high frequencywords and sound great but later in school that lack of vocabulary and academic language catchesup to them and how do we put interventions in to address this need?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.For the most part with the populations you mention, the central issue is the kind of COREINSTRUCTION they are receiving. It is not primarily an intervention issue. RTI has to be predicatedfirst and foremost on a robust core curriculum, appropriate to the students in a given schoolcommunity. So, for example, if we already know that a school has an ELL or low SES population thebasic curriculum has to address the needs of these students.

Jill TrubiaWhat is considered Tier 2 for language intervention?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.The answer to this question would vary among states and school districts. Some agencies do noteven use the term "tiers." In general, however, one would expect a Tier 2 intervention to be lessintensive and of shorter duration than later tiers. There is no one set of criteria for the meaning ofintensity and duration. Tier 2 would also likely be implemented in small groups.

Julia CotterIf you are using an RTI model, what about the legality of "placement" with out an IEP?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Interventions in preliminary tiers of RTI (outside of special education) do not constitute placementin special education. However, what many states/districts are grappling with is how to utilizepersonnel previously associated with special education (like SLPs and special ed teachers) todeliver some of these interventions. The complexity of the situation increases when mixingstudents with IEPS with students who don't have them in instructional groupings. Such groupingsmay make perfect sense and be beneficial to students. However, state regulations and districtpolicies may have provisions about this. All educational agencies are struggling with catching theirrules up to current RTI implementation. Check the regulations in your area. Hopefully we all will getfurther guidance when IDEA and ESEA (formerly NCLB) are reauthorized in the near future.

Liz

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1. Do you feel that by the time students reach high school, they no longer need Speech/Languageservices? 2. Do you think that students who are classified as having a Mild Cognitive Impairmentshould not receive Speech/Language services?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Regarding #1, I feel strongly that we belong as integral members of high school faculty. For aglimpse of how strongly I believe this please read:

Ehren, B. J. (2002). Speech-language pathologists contributing significantly to the academic●

success of high school students: A vision for professional growth. Topics in Language Disorders,22(2), 60-80.Ehren, B. J. (2002, April 16). Getting in the adolescent literacy game. The ASHA Leader. Rockville,●

MD: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.Ehren, B. J. & Whitmire, K. A. (2009). Speech-language pathologists as primary contributors to RTI●

at the secondary level, Seminars in Speech and Language, 30(2), 90-104.

Regarding #2, I feel that cognitive referencing should not be used to make decisions about whoreceives therapy. The issue for me is ?who will not thrive without intervention from an SLP.?However, that intervention may take several forms, including indirect services where the SLP workswith others on behalf of students.

N FrumkinIs there an evidenced-based sequence of procedures to follow when rolling out a successful SLP/RTIprogram across a school district?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.To my knowledge there have not been any empirical studies addressing this issue of a sequence;therefore, there is no strong evidence base. However, from my experience in working with schools,districts, and states on RTI implementation, here are leverage points I think SLPs should focus onwhen rolling out involvement in RTI:

Advocate for important and appropriate roles1.Make room on the plate for substantive work with the language underpinnings literacy and2.curriculum.Expand service delivery options3.Develop IEPs carefully4.Create and maintain a flexible schedule5.Move toward a workload approach6.

Thomas Rosati A.T.P.

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Medicaid regulations regarding the need to provide therapy instead of teaching for billing purposeshave been problematic for SLP's and TSHH's in schools. What strategies do you recommend forproviding RTI services follwing sound educational practice with clinical and theraputic models?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.It is important that we provide the services we deem necessary as professionals. At times thatmeans that the services we provide may be billable and by all means we should bill for thosebillable service. However, we should not shape what we do for students around what is billable.

Amy TullierIs RtI basically doing "speech therapy" without all of the paperwork of an evaluation and IEP? Youare intervening in a need area and monitoring progress?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.I assume you are talking about language. If you mean speech, then please see Barb's answer toanother question that addresses the notion of RTI for articulation.

In the article cited below Laura Justice provides a nice overview of the RTI model. I believe that toooften, RTI is reduced to the idea of intervening off-caseload. Sometimes you will hear people useRTI as a verb - "RTI him" or refering just to an intervention "it's RTI time."

RTI is really about systems change. It is about building a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) ingeneral education so that all students can access learning. In the white paper by NASDSE andCASE (the link is below), notice that the first steps in implementing this model are providing ahigh-quality curriculum within which most children achieve. In an RTI model, benchmarkinformation is used to assess the success of core instruction and analyze areas to improveinstruction for all students. I believe that in the application of RTI to language, sometimes thisfoundational step is lost and suddenly we are talking about individual services for students (offcaseload). If we are to talk about oral language in an RTI model, then the first step is assessing thesuccess of core instruction in helping all children to achieve in oral language.

When issues are addressed with all students, then there is a continuum of increasingly intensivesupports for children with language needs, there is not an immediate "jump" to providing servicesby a special ed service provider (SLP) without an IEP. This should be a strategy that is a laststep/resort.

Justice, l. (2006) EBP and the prevention of reading difficulties. Language, Speech, and HearingServices in Schools, vol. 37, p. 284-297. Response to Intervention.

NASDSE and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) White Paper on RtI.Download a free copy of the CASE White Paper on RtI.

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Teri-Anne CoxGiven that our caseloads, in the schools, are driven by numbers of students that qualify forspecially designed instruction, is there a recommendation to our administrators on how we can"count" children serviced, by us, via the RTI model?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.It is essential for RTI implementation that SLPs implement a "workload approach" (ASHA, 2002)which involves scheduling and accounting for all the work they do with and on behalf of students,along with other activities that are part of their school day. However, for that to happen to theextent necessary to fully implement RTI, major changes have to be made in the way SLP servicesare funded. As long as money is attached to students eligible for services under IDEA, states anddistricts will continue to count heads (i.e. use a caseload approach). If you can get your system tomove to a workload approach and count all your activities, that would be great. Many places areexploring alternative formulae for "counting" the work of SLPs although these efforts are atrudimentary stages.

Jim jaegerAre there progress monitoring tools that are sensitive to gradual growth in basic language areas?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.?Sensitivity to gradual growth in basic language? I?m going to address regarding oral language. Irecommend that we look to some outstanding work that has been done in Australia as aspringboard for continued development in this area. See ?The Language Support Program" (LSP) isa substantial program comprising direct assistance to teachers in developing strong oral languagecompetency in children and young people to maximise their learning potential. It is founded on aframework of empirical evidence, which acknowledges that improved teacher knowledge and skills,conveyed in explicit teaching, respond to students? readiness to learn, and result in positivelearning outcomes. The Language Support Program is based on the extensive research of Dr JohnMunro (The University of Melbourne).?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.Barb discusses this issue in another response. Despite some attempts out there to come up withtools to meet this goal, there continues to be a lack in this area. Below are some resources toaddress progress monitoring.

An excellent article by Sandra Gillam & Laura Justice in the ASHA Leader in 2010 discussed themonitoring of language skills.

Gillam, S. L. & Justice, L. (2010, September 21). RTI Progress Monitoring Tools : AssessingPrimary-Grade Students in Response-to-Intervention Programs. The ASHA Leader.

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A presentation entitled, ?Curriculum-Based Language Assessment for Intervention Planning? By ,Lesley Raisor-Becker, and Nancy Creaghead at the Ohio Speech Language Hearing Convention in2010 covered this topic very well.

A great resource for looking up progress monitoring tools is the National Center for RTI's ProgressMonitoring Tools page

Kathy PetersonMore and more of the older students discussed in our RTI meetings seem to have some sort oflanguage impairment. Is there a way to identify them earlier? Are there programs available to helpwith this intervention?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.It is not surprising that older students encountering academic or behavioral problems havelanguage problems (and perhaps impairments) at their base. While it is possible to identify manystudents with language problems early in their schooling, it is also the case that some students donot experience difficulty until the academic requirements become more complex in later grades.We may not always find packaged programs, but SLPs know how to address languageunderpinnings in older students.

KatieShould the SLP provide direct instruction to the child when using RTI or should they consult withthe teacher and parents to provide ideas for strategies and suppports?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.All of the above. As we have indicated in other responses work with RTI involves direct work withstudents and indirect work with others.

L. SyversonDo you feel SLPs should be involved more in whole group, small group or 1-1 instruction during theRTI process?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.My short answer is ?all of the above.? See below for details:

Across TiersLook at students individually, deciphering patterns of strengths and challenges in learning.

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Look at students individually, deciphering patterns of strengths and challenges in learning.●

Analyze tasks by identifying component parts, breaking them down into smaller parts, and●

highlighting language components.Select instructional and assessment language to match students? comprehension●

Scaffold instruction based on the learners? language needs within the context of classroom●

performance.

Tier 1

Guide teachers? language-sensitive content instruction.●

Identify the nature of poor academic performance in the classroom, with an emphasis on●

language underpinnings.Analyze screening and progress monitoring data to uncover language factors in performance.●

Administer screening and progress measures on selected students who may be suspected of●

language problems, as opposed to taking on administration of screening and assessmentmeasures for the entire school.Assist teachers in identifying language underpinnings that may be interfering with learning●

academic content.

Tier 2

Provide input with regard to the selection of interventions.●

Collaborate with other interventionists to implement interventions.●

Interpret progress monitoring data with regard to language implications.●

Provide short-term interventions for students not enrolled in special education.●

Tier 3(In many places Tier 3 includes intervention outside of special education and then ultimatelyspecial education. Other places have a 4th tier which is special education. For clarity here I?ll callspecial education Tier 4)

Provide input with regard to the selection of interventions.●

Collaborate with other interventionists to implement interventions.●

Interpret progress monitoring data with regard to language implications.●

Provide intensive, individualized interventions outside of special education.●

Tier 4

Provide therapeutic intervention for students with language impairment LI within special●

education.Determine accommodations needed to access the curriculum for students with LI.●

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LindseyHow are students who receive RtI speech-language time counted/considered into caseload?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.In most places they are not counted as part of caseload as caseload is defined as students withIEPs. A few states/districts do count non-IEP students as caseload. However, the real issue is thatour systems need to abandon the caseload structure of defining workscope and load and move to a?workload approach.? See ASHA, 2002 policy documents on a workload analysis approach.

LindseyWhat is the SLPs role in RtI? What is the best use of their time/resources?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.For current ASHA policy regarding SLPs? roles, see the new policy documents on Roles andResponsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools (ASHA, 2010). For my role definitionfor RTI, see the response to another question where I outline activities in tiers.

LindseyAre there guidelines for SLPs to follow when integrating themselves into the RtI process?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Here are my guidelines:

SLPs provide services that make use of their unique contributions.1.SLPs are involved in some way across tiers.2.SLPs implement IEPs of identified students.3.SLPs support teachers in providing assistance to struggling students.4.SLPs utilize a variety of delivery models, including indirect services.5.SLPs have a reasonable workload; that is, RtI activities are not add-ons to their existing6.workload

Sarah SearcyWe are currently providing RTI service sin the areas of articulation and language. Are speechpathologists involved in reading RTI services and to what capacity?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.I think it might be helpful for you to take a look at the ASHA documents about SLPs? Roles andResponsibilities Related to Reading and Writing. Here is a link and reference to the Guidelines

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paper. There is also a Technical Report, Position Paper, and Knowledge and Skills documents thatyou can find in the same location.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2001). ●

Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists With Respect to Reading and Writing●

in Children and Adolescents [Guidelines].

Caroline WintersDoes a specific documentation requirement exist for tracking interventions prior to identification?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.There is not a federal documentation process, so school systems have developed this (or are in theprocess of developing this). In some places, it comes from the state and others at the local level.

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Documentation requirements vary with school districts.

Katie GuthrieHow do we go about the shift to RtI model, when I have a full caseload of students on IEP's whohave mandated services?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.Many of our other responses speak to this in some way. Truly the efforts for SLPs to use servicedelivery practices that are educationally relevant, classroom based, and collaborative--as well asfor SLPs to contribute to the greater efforts of the school such as by serving on schoolimprovement and curriculum committees-- all fit together. The more an SLP does any one of these,the easier it is to do the rest. It far easier to provide curriculum-relevant services when you arespending some time in the students? classrooms than when service delivery is in isolation (pullout). It is easier to consult about students at-risk when you are already in their classroom. It iseasier to participate in data dialogues about the grade level when you have a collaborativerelationship with the teachers. These are just a few examples.

An article by Staskowski and Rivera below outlines how increasing your curriculum-relevantpractices can lead to, and make it easier to, participation in the school?s RTI initiative. Anotherarticle listed below provides a rubric for SLPs? self-assessment of their participation as part of theschool?s literacy team. I would review ASHA's recently revised professional issues statement onthe Roles and Responsibilities of the SLP in Schools and perhaps Nancy Creaghead and colleague?sarticle in Perspectives about the current roles of SLPs.

Staskowski, M. & Rivera, E. (2005). Speech-language pathologists? involvement in●

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responsiveness to intervention activities: A complement to curriculum-relevant practice. Topics inLanguage Disorders, 25, pp. 132-147.Staskowski, M. & Zagaiski, K. (2003). Reaching for the stars: SLPs shine on literacy teams.●

Seminars in Speech and Language, 24, pp. 199-214. Roles and Responsibilities ofSpeech-Language Pathologists in Schools American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.(2010).Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools [Professional Issues●

Statement]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.Perspectives on Preparing Graduate Students To Provide Educationally Relevant Services in●

Schools by Debbie Elledge, Emily Hasselbeck, Amy Hobek, Sandra Combs, Lesley Raisor-Becker,and Nancy Creaghead Perspectives on School-Based Issues 11 40-49 June 2010.doi:10.1044/sbi11.2.40 Copyright 2010 by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Kimberly SeymourThe SLP's role in RtI for phonemic and phonological awareness is well-known and more widelypracticed. What guidance can you provide on RtI interventions and assessments in the areas of 1.vocabulary as it relates to reading comprehension and 2. oral narration skills as it relates toreading comprehension/retelling? I am ready to advance my RtI efforts beyond early literacy skillsand would like guidance on the above. Thank you!

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.I only have time to provide a partial answer to this question. A resource that many SLPs have usedto embark on narrative intervention with data collection is the Story Grammar Marker and relatedproducts (Story Braidy) by Maryellen Moreau. There is a data collection manual. SLPs have beenable to help their school staff see the need for intervening in this area.

More and more SLPs are sharing strategies for writing intervention with school teams. Mark Shinnhas suggestions for CBM for writing that have been incredibly useful for progress monitoring.

Vocabulary can be approached from many angles. One intervention is to address morphology.There is a vignette on the Doing What Works website that shows a teacher using Greek Mythologyto teach this. Specific intervention products for morphemes is in another answer.

Cheryl TurnerGiven the situation we have here in Canada where we typically have about 18% of the SLP staffingratios that you would find in US schools, how would you prioritize and deliver services to all threetiers? For example I am an SLP responsible for 6 schools (with over 1,000 students) in a 90 mileradius. Should I attempt to serve just one of the tiers? If so which one?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.

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Ah-where to begin in such a situation? I would say by all means focus on students with substantivelanguage disabilities adversely affecting academic learning, social interaction, and behavior. Then Iwould address helping teachers strengthen core instruction (Tier 1) because without that you don'treally know who needs intervention.

Jillian TimberlakeWho directly provides the student with the RTI interventions- the teacher or SLP? If the SLP, howdoes this differ than providing therapeutic interventions?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.I speak about this in some of my other responses. In an RTI model, the school is developing asystem of supports that increases in intensity. Language should not be treated differently thanreading, so that means an entire continuum of supports is built from solidifying the core curriculum,supplementing the core (often by the teacher), to providing tier 2 supports (often by a number ofservice providers). If the student is seen for intensive intervention by the SLP for a short time, itwould be the last choice. Many students have "wobbly" language skills that can be addressed in anumber of ways by the team, sometimes with the consultation of the SLP. There may be a studentwho does not respond to these efforts, who the team is beginning to suspect has a disability andwant to rule out whether a short intensive treatment would bump the student back on track.

Lana HarringtonThe point of RtI seems to be a reallocation of the SLP's time to better address prevention and earlyintervention, and in the long run serve more students up front rather than at the point of specialeducation evaluation and service. How will these expanded roles and responsibilities beincorporated into an already overwhelming workday of scheduled special education service?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Bingo! You have said it beautifully! The key is not adding one more thing to our already full platesbut judiciously selecting the students with whom we can have substantial impact on theireducational success. Let's take a look at whom we are serving, whether or not these students'"problems" meet the test of educational impact required by federal law. Do we really thinkstudents with single sound articulation errors meet the IDEA definition of students with a disability,no matter how much we want that error to be resolved? Let's also consider how we are servingstudents to ascertain whether we can be more effective and efficient with a variety of deliverymodels, including in-classroom services, both directly with students and on their behalf (indirectlywith teachers and others.)

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Lyn YatesWhat specific interventions can be used when teachers indicate that there is an underlying orallanguage problem for a child who is not responding to intervention in reading?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Please remember that interventions within an RTI framework do NOT mean packaged programs. Ifyou are an SLP, you know how to address oral language problems. It is no different in RTI. Mysuggestion is to get to the heart of the problem by using curriculum as a context and uncoveringthe language underpinnings that are interfering with success in reading.

Diane NathanAre school districts able to bill Medicaid for RTI services provided by an SLP?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.If one considers RTI as the umbrella framework under which all services in a multi-tiered system ofsupports fits, then the speech-language services for which SLPs would normally bill Medicaidremain the same. Medicaid guidelines have to be followed.

Nancy TarulliI am interested in: 1) What types of (SLP administered) assessments Barbara Ehren isrecommending as well as, 2) How SLP counsultants can better connect with school staff who arealready overwhelmed and perhaps, not receptive.

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.For one tool in formative assessment, I love to teach SLPs how to use the Qualitative ReadingInventory V to uncover language underpinnings at the root of reading problems.

Kathy BergerHow will the specific roles of the SLP and other special education teachers be defined using the RTImodel?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.This response will likely differ from place to place as there is no one RTI model used across thecountry. My suggestions for SLP role definition are contained in my responses to Lisa Duffy and to L.Syverson.

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liela johnsonWhat assessment measures are being used with struggling readers to determine the differentlevels of intervention needed?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.A great description of the data-based decision making process is part of the Online LearningModule by the Iris Center.

Mac BarnettIn New York our IEP Goals are assigned to numerous professional staff members to implement,considering this, how (e.g. what criteria or matrix is used) does one decide when the level ofintervention requires the specialization povided by a speech pathologist rather than theintervention by a teacher in the English/Language Arts curriculum in the elementary school level?

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.Once you reference IEP goals, you are talking about special education, which is the most intensiveoption in a multi-tiered instructional/intervention system (RTI). As with any IEP, when you have onein place you have already decided that special education and/or related services is/are required.The issue is who is qualified to provide speech and language therapy. I feel strongly that that is theSLP. However, I can't imagine SLPs providing intervention without collaboration from classroomteachers, if we really want to see progress.

Jennifer RayChildren with phonological deficits often have speech development issues. Is it your experiencethat speech-language pathologists are seen as part of the solution?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.As SLPs collaborate more closely with preschool and kindergarten teachers, they help the teachersto better scaffold instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics for all students, including thosewith articulation delays. We have repeatedly had teachers comment that they had never thoughtabout mouth placement of phonemes and that having that simple knowedge has helped them toscaffold their teaching of sounds in ways they had not previously.

Also - it is soemtimees difficult for teachers to scaffold phonemic awareness when students arestuck. Simple modeling by SLPs within the classroom has proven very helpful for teachers.

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SueHow are SLPs involved in using RTI as a part of SLD eligiblity?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.Great question! SLPs' expertise in looking at the students strengths and weakness related tohis/her language system is critical in understanding their needs. Often times, having the SLP'sconsultation during the decision-making process about the types of intervention and theadjustments as the intervention progresses, can lead to a better understanding of whether thestudent has instructional issues, or an underlying learning disability.

We find that sometimes, when the team has not included the SLP, the intervention selected did notas specifically target his needs, and therefore it is still not know as to whether he/she will benefitfrom intervention.

Suzette PerrinWith all the different interpretations of what RTI is and isn't per school and district, it sounds likethe SLP will be at the mercy of the particular school interpretation in what the SLP can help with inthe classroom situation? Do you feel that SLPs will need to help in educating the school cultureabout our roles as per ASHA guidelines?

Maureen Staskowski, Ph.D.In many ways this is the beauty of this time period in education for SLPs. We can take this as aprime opportunity to step up and lead the interpretation of RTI. It is an opportunity to help othersunderstand the many roles we play and the ways we can use our expertise to benefit students andstaff.

ASHA's recent documents of the changing role of SLPs in schools (referenced in another question)is a great help.

CEC and IDEA Partnership also have helpful documents about the SLPs' role and expertise relatedto RTI.

Without stepping up and volunteering, you are right that the school's interpretation of RTI willultimately affect the SLP, so we must speak up and participate. Besides, in economic times likethese it is vital that we be seen as integral and effective staff members.

Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.YES. YES. YES. YOU HAVE THE KEY!!!!!

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That concludes our RTI Talk for today. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful questions and thanks to ourexperts, Drs. Barbara Ehren and Maureen Staskowski, for their time today. Please also take a few moments at the completion of this event to give us your feedback bytaking our survey!

Related Reading from RTINetwork.org:

New Roles in Response to Intervention: Creating Success for Schools and Children ●

Response to Intervention in Secondary Schools: Is It on Your Radar Screen? by Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D. ●

Additional Web Resources:

ASHA RtI ●

ASHA's Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools [Position Statement]●

ASHA's Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools [Professional Issues●

Statement]National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) ●

IDEA Partnership ●

National Association of State Directors of Special Education RtI Project ●

National Center on Response to Intervention ●

Project MP3 ●

Florida Center on Reading Research ●

Additional Resources:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Committee on Reading and Writing (2001). Roles and●

responsibilities of speech-language pathologists with respect to reading and writing in children andadolescents (position statement, guidelines, technical report and knowledge and skills required).Rockville, MD: Author. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Committee on Roles and Responsibilities of the●

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist. (2010) Roles and responsibilities of speech-languagepathologists in schools (position statement, professional issues statement). Rockville, MD: Author. Ehren, B. J. (Ed) (2005). Series of articles related to Response to Intervention in speech-language●

pathology. (2005). Topics in Language Disorders (25)2. Ehren, B. J. (2007, Sept. 25). Responsiveness to intervention: An opportunity to reinvent speech-language●

services in schools. The ASHA Leader, 12(13), 10-12, 25. Ehren, B. J. (2009, May 5). Response-to-intervention: SLPs as linchpins in secondary schools. The ASHA●

Leader, 14(6), 10-13. With K. McCallister and S. Trumbo as contributing authors. Ehren, B. J., Ehren, T.C. & Proly, J. L. (2009). Response to Intervention: An action guide for school●

leaders. Alexandria, VA: Educational Research Service. Ehren, B. J. Montgomery, J., Rudebusch, J., & Whitmire, K. (n.d.) Responsiveness to Intervention: New●

roles for speech-language pathologists. Ehren, B. J. & Whitmire, K. A. (2009). Speech-language pathologists as primary contributors to RtI at the●

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secondary level, Seminars in Speech and Language, 30(2), 90-104. International Reading Association (2009). IRA Commission on RtI: Working draft of guiding principles. ●

National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (2005). Responsiveness to Intervention and Learning●

Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 28, 249???260. Research Topics in Responsiveness to Intervention. (2005). Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(6). ●

Roth, F. P., Dougherty, D. P., Paul, D. R. & Adamczyk, D. (2010) RtI in action: Oral language activities for●

K-2 Classrooms. Rockville, MD: American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Rudebusch, J. (2008). The source for RtI: Response to Intervention. East Moline, IL: Linguisystems. ●